


Meet-Cute

by kyoloren



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dating, Epistolary, F/M, Fluff, Slow Burn, twitfic tie-in
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:21:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 21,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22700077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyoloren/pseuds/kyoloren
Summary: After Rey's dog Bee chews up a stranger's expensive briefcase, there's nothing she can do but pay it back. With weekly check-ins and the ease of texting, there may be more in store than just a business arrangement.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 63
Kudos: 148





	1. Friends?

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! So this is uploaded on AO3 for ease of reading. The full fic is 90% text messages posted on my twitter, [which you can find here](https://twitter.com/hunkbuster/status/1225072046197166082). This is where I'll be posting all of the longer, fic-like parts of Meet-Cute, so be sure to read over on Twitter otherwise this will probably not make any sense.
> 
> PS the rating will probably go up to M or E by the end fyi.
> 
> Cheers!

Rey shouldn’t have been so damned nervous as she held the phone to her ear. It wasn’t like she’d never heard Ben speak before. They’d first met in person, after all, both laughing uncomfortably and then with actual humor and then frustration as he tugged on his briefcase and she yanked on Bee’s harness for a solid five minutes. No, she shouldn’t be nervous, but she still paced around the apartment as the line rang.

Ben just stepped into his place when his phone buzzed. In a cacophony of curses and shuffles he got his briefcase strap off and fished around in the pocket of his jacket that was tossed over his arm. His stomach lurched when he saw Rey’s photo on his screen, but he didn’t waste any time accepting the call. “Hello,” he said.

“Hi, Ben,” Rey said, smiling so wide her face hurt. “I figured I’d just call you first. I hope that’s okay.”

“Wow.” 

“Is something wrong?”

“No, no. I kind of guessed with some of the things you’d said but I didn’t expect your accent to be so…”

“Is it bad? I’m sorry! I do a horrible Valley Girl impression.”

“No, it’s great,” he insisted, leaning down to untie his shoes, leaving them in the foyer and walking farther into his apartment.

“Thanks.” Rey had to admit that his voice was nicer than she remembered. Not that she remembered much from that embarrassing afternoon. “So about...okay, about what I said earlier. I realize how bad it sounded.”

Ben had almost forgotten about her texts with her voice in his ear, but he pulled himself to the present situation. “Why don’t you try again?” He perched on the end of his dining room table.

Rey took a deep breath. “I realize that I’m pushy and a lot to handle. Especially since I randomly texted you and then we started this thing.”

“It was my idea to talk while you were getting the money.”

“I know, but...I just didn’t want to overstep any boundaries you may have and I didn’t want to presume anything about...anything.” On her side of the phone, she made an  _ Oh-my-God-could-I-be-saying-this-any-worse _ face as Bee, who just hrrmphed and rolled over in his doggy bed. “Just because I said we’re friends, I didn’t want you to feel obligated to call me a friend.”

He understood where she was coming from. “If I didn’t want to talk to you, I wouldn’t. I’m very good at pushing people away. And I wouldn’t have told you about my father.”

Rey paused, digging her fingers into the back of the couch, her breath caught in her throat.

“I think that constitutes us as friends, Rey. At least.” Alone in his apartment, he crossed his arm around his chest and tucked his free hand under his arm clutching the phone. Alone in her apartment, Rey tried not to reel from her name coming from his voice and the deliberately added  _ at least _ .

“I like that you thought about me when I was gone,” she blurted out before she could stop herself. “Could you tell when I got back to LA?” She tried for a teasing tone, but she wasn’t sure if she got it. The nerves had fallen back, leaving her with happy butterflies and enough confusion to give Psyduck a headache. 

“If I had some sort of psychic GPS for you I would have gone straight to you the night of that wrap party.” Ben held his breath like an idiot after the words tumbled out of his mouth. They were the truth though.

Rey blushed and calmed down enough to flop down on the couch and prop her feet on the glass coffee table. “I was pretty far away. Not sure if you’d have made it before I passed out. As it is, my sleep schedule is so fucked up.”

There were a lot of things they both wanted to say. But at least they’d gotten over the ‘friends’ thing. Rey no longer had to worry about messing that up at least. But the other stuff? The other stuff she could ruin if she started talking more about how much she wanted to see him in person and all of the feelings swirling around inside.

Ben wanted to see her, too. He wondered if just seeing her face in front of him for real would help sort him out. He’d never been one to get attached to a stranger so quickly, but he couldn’t help it with her. 

“Oh! I have twenty dollars in your fund now,” Rey said, breaking the easy silence that cut across the lines. “Not too bad for three weeks in, huh? Though I guess technically it’s four weeks tomorrow. Do you still want me to text you to check in?”

_ Always, please. Don’t stop talking, don’t stop texting, it’s the best part of any of my days _ . “We wouldn’t want to breach a contract, would we?”

“Oh,” she laughed, a truly magical laugh that wasn’t dainty or sweet per say but uninhibited and totally unique. “Is it a contract now?”

“It is in writing. Well, texting.”

“I guess that counts. I um...I should get some sleep. I need to catch up and get back to a semi-normal schedule.”

Ben wondered what he could say to keep her on the line, then stopped himself at the selfishness. “Thank you for calling. I look forward to your texts tomorrow.” _God_ _no_ that was _too_ impersonal.

“Me too. It was nice to hear your voice,” Rey said, thinking aloud, before she blushed from toes to ears. “I mean, I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Bye, Ben!”

She smooshed her finger on the screen to end the call and threw the phone across to the other side of the couch. From his bed, Bee grunted and looked over at her with knowing eyes. “Don’t even start,” she told her dog.


	2. Saturday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's _finally_ Saturday and Rey calls Ben, slightly worried she accidentally set up a sex-phone date instead of, y'know, just a normal phone call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, this is part of my twitter fic, [Meet-Cute](https://twitter.com/hunkbuster/status/1225072046197166082)! Be sure to keep up with my updates over on my twitter. :)

Ben had been doing everything in his power to stay away from his phone all morning. He tried reading; he kept rereading the same passages. He went to the gym, which was more fruitful in distracting him and he wore himself completely out. Dragging himself home, he showered and made himself some food. He stayed standing in the kitchen, back turned on any clocks.

And then his phone rang all the way in the bedroom and he had to painfully sprint across the apartment to get it. Rey’s smiling face filled the screen under the accept or deny button.

“Rey,” he answered, sounding like an idiot.

“Ben,” she replied and he could hear her smile through the phone. “Sorry I’m a little late. Traffic was a bitch and I had to eat something quick.”

“That’s totally fine,” Ben said, meandering his way to the couch before deciding being idle wasn’t smart and he ended up just wandering around. “How was the rest of work?”

“Oh it was fine. The usual.” A pause. “So that stuff you said earlier. Did you find that in a book or something?”

“What? No.” Ben leaned against the doorframe out to his balcony. The view from his place wasn’t great, but at least he wasn’t looking at a brick wall three feet away.

Rey sighed. “How did you come up with that out of nothing?”

“I have a pretty great muse.”

Across the city, Rey wriggled on her couch, Bee at her feet, snoozing. She blushed, because that seemed to be her gut reaction at anything Ben said about her. “I’ve never been anyone’s muse before.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“I mean the guys I’ve dated before weren’t so obviously well-read.” Shit, she shouldn’t be bringing up past boyfriends. “Not that we’re dating!” she yelled to her own mortification. She buried her face in the back of the couch and Bee walked up her legs. She pet his back and scratched his ears.

Ben chuckled. He leaned his head back against the wall and tucked his arm around his torso, which was quickly becoming his signature thing when talking to Rey. To keep himself together? Perhaps.

“Are you at home?” she asked, bulldozing over herself. Just then Rose walked out from the hall leading to their bedrooms. She made faces at Rey, who flipped her off and shooed Bee off the couch. He walked obediently to the door and Rose hooked a leash on him. She gave one last look at Rey, along with a big thumbs up, before leaving the apartment.

“Yes. Yeah. I am. I went out earlier but I wanted to be back for your call.” Ben mouthed  _ what-the-fuck _ into his empty apartment and dragged his hand through his hair. He started pacing around again.

Rey’s heart was thudding through her whole body. She could feel it in her toes and throbbing at her temples. It wasn’t entirely unpleasant, but she wished she could calm her ass down so she could stop saying stupid shit. “You could um...continue. From before,” she said before she could chicken out. “Whatever it is you were saying.” As if she hadn’t reread his texts thirty times and had the words burned into her brain.

“I was just thinking of how I would describe you,” Ben said, finding his rhythm now that there was a focus for the conversation that wasn’t just them both saying embarrassing things, “if I were writing you in a book.”

“Have you written a book before?”

“Heh, ask me that some other time. It’s a long answer.”

“Okay.” She propped herself up on the arm of the couch and dug her toes into the space between the cushions.

“Sorry if I repeat myself.”

She wanted to say “ _ Please do, I want to hear all of that in your voice and imagine you here with me _ ” but she didn’t, allowing him to continue uninterrupted.

“I’d start with your voice. Lovely and sharp, accented enough to make someone wonder what your life story is. Your laughter is full and effortless, genuine in the way most people aren’t. The way you say my name is...gentle and special like it holds meaning beyond comprehension.” He’d stopped pacing now, eyes turned toward the most cluttered part of his place, eyeing book spines as if he could absorb their words by osmosis. He wished she was there, in front of him, so he could see all of it and not have to go off memories of photographs.

“I hope that was okay to say,” he added.

“Yes,” Rey said, like a breath escaping. 

He smiled a bit and moved on. “Your beauty is all of you. Your exquisite face and smile bright enough to rival the sun itself, and your character. You’re spontaneous and honest and thoughtful. Your caring and concern for others is a virtue and it’s contagious and it makes people, makes me want to be better, to be worthy of knowing you.”

Rey’s eyes prickled with tears even as her heart thumped in her ribcage and her body grew warm.

“Your physical beauty is no less. A rival not just to the great sun but to those women men to war for. Helen and Aphrodite and Cleopatra. I think there is no one alive who could see you and not be captivated by you. Your eyes are warm and welcoming and yet there is more behind them than maybe anyone else knows. It adds a mystery, a compulsive desire to know you.”

The warmth, now pleasant rather than fueled by embarrassment, spread through her body, pooling low between her hips and she didn’t quite know what to do with herself. She was hanging on every word, clutching her phone so hard she would definitely have lines leftover once the call was over. But another part of her wanted to let her free hand roam, but she clenched it into a fist, not wanting to let her guard down and do something--

“Rey?” Ben’s voice was soft through the phone. “I could stop if--”

She voiced her earlier thought, not caring about the tiny bit of whine in it, the  _ need _ for more. “Please keep going, Ben. I want to hear all of this in your voice and imagine you here with me.”

Ben’s own heart expanded through his whole chest. He steadied himself on the island to his right and closed his eyes. It wasn’t as if he’d never imagined her near him before. He had. It had been a long time since a new person had stumbled into his life that he actually  _ wanted _ there and she felt so easy to fit in with his life. Far out of his league, what with that smile and that voice, and yet here she was.

He went from flattering description to action and made details up as he went.

“Your hair is down and silky and smells of you and your shampoo. The light is low and sets on your cheeks and softens your eyes.”

It was, in fact, bright as shit out but Rey closed her eyes and tugged her hair out of its ponytail for effect.

“Your skin is smooth and flushed and I--” He wasn’t sure he would do this, but she wasn’t stopping him. His cock, earlier at mild attention, sprung to full blown erection and it took everything in him to keep his hands on his phone and the counter. “I run my hands up your arms, to your neck, your pulse under my palms and I’d tilt your chin back, look into your eyes. Your lips, pink and plush and parted, just waiting to be kissed--”

“Ben.” His name slipped from her lips, far more sensual than expected. Her eyes sprang open and she fisted the hand that had somehow made it’s way toward her panties.

“Rey.” He was already running away with this, his imagination having taken over. It was easy enough, with her voice and her breathing and knowing she was listening.

“I think,” she wanted to kick herself, but as she thought about _this_ , she felt that spike of nerves cut through. She didn’t want to do this. Listen to him say these things, _yes_ , but she didn’t want to touch herself listening to him...she wanted to _be_ _there_. “God, I hate this, but I think I need you to stop.”

Ben’s breathy chuckle was a little shaky. “Yeah, I figured.”

“It’s...shit, it’s very very  _ very _ good, but I don’t want this to be a thing.” She said  _ this _ hoping he’d know what she meant, then worried she’d presume that he was just as turned on as she was. They’d definitely blown right past the  _ friends _ thing and were in new territory and she needed a moment to adjust. “If we’re going to be you and me...together then I want it to be real.”

He didn’t deny the sex thing which made her feel better. “Okay,” he said. Just  _ okay _ . He was having trouble thinking coherently with all his blood rushing to his dick. “Okay, yeah. I…”

“I think we should go on a date,” Rey blurted out. “Like a real date.”

“Yes,” he said too quickly. “Absolutely.”

Rey beamed, the pleasurable warmth dissipating into something cozy. “Good. Great.”

“But I can’t have you paying me back for my briefcase if we’re going to be dating,” he said, trying to say literally anything other than the wild things flashing through his mind.

“Oh,” Rey said, frowning. “But...I need to!”

Ben growled a little and leaned down, pressing his forehead to the cool granite counter. “I have a lot of money. You don’t.”

“I need to do it for my own peace of mind. You just said all that stuff about how good I am. I can’t go back on that.”

He turned his head to the side, cheek against counter, and stared blearily at the coffeemaker. “I think I remember you mentioning getting half and paying me that first.” God how he hated this, but he  _ needed _ to keep her happy and he didn’t want to undermine her.

“That’s true. We could...we could have that be our first date.” Rey nearly buzzed with excitement.

Ben squinted, voice a little higher. “And exactly how much money have you gotten together?”

“Thirty dollars. I added a bit more extra from the music video.” Only $45 left to go. She was a little less excited now.

Ben groaned and mumbled something far too inaudible for her to understand but she thought she understood the sentiment. “You’re going to kill me.”

“It’s not my intention,” Rey insisted. “The opposite actually. I want to keep talking to you and getting to know you. And we can have a first date that feels like the third or fifth.” Like exactly the kind of date one could acceptably have sex on. Her face was flush again but this time she allowed it.

“Okay,” Ben said after a long pause. “I don’t know how many more times I can hear your voice without needing to see you.”

Rey smiled, dimple digging into her cheek. “Is it the accent?” she teased.

“It’s all of you.”

Rey wished she could have saved this whole phone call and listen to him say all those things over and over again. “I can’t believe anyone would think of any of those things in connection with me.”

“That and more.”

Before this lingered on, she cut him a break. “Okay. So...texting. Money. Date eventually.”

“If we must,” he sighed out.

“For my sake.” And then, quickly, “I should go. Goodbye, Ben.”

She was gone before he could say anything more than a simple farewell, leaving his head buzzing and his dick still hard. With her voice in his mind, his name on her lips, he had no problem imagining her there with him, looking as divine as he’d described. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PS. Dunno if a "literary kink" is a thing that exists but I'm pretty sure I just invented it if it doesn't.


	3. The Exception

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Ben spirals early one morning, Rey breaks her own rules and calls him to calm him down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another easily accessible place to read another bit of my twitfic, [Meet-Cute](https://twitter.com/hunkbuster/status/1225072046197166082). You know the deal by now. Enjoy!

“Rey?” Ben’s voice was deep and throaty from lack of use and sleep.

“You’re not alone,” Rey replied, her voice clearer and brighter. “Neither of us are.”

In his pitch-black bedroom, Ben laid on his back, eyes searching for a nonexistent ceiling. When he got this place he’d accidentally gotten black out curtains and never changed them. Perhaps a lack of sunlight for three years was part of his current emotional state. 

“Not if we have each other,” Rey continued. She was curled up on her side into a tiny ball, one hand under cheek, the other holding the phone close so she could keep her voice low but make sure he heard her.

“I hear you,” he said finally. He ran a heavy hand over his face. “I’ve been trying to...with as much as you do with your friends, I’ve been trying to be better.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen and talked to Phasma more and it’s been strange but fine.”

“Humans aren’t meant to be solitary creatures.”

“No, I suppose not. It’s easier to cut people out of your life.”

“Sure. But then you get lonely. You don’t need a room full of friends, but one or two can make a difference.”

“You’re right.” He sighed and closed his eyes. “How did you move all the way to a new country without knowing a single person and still end up more connected than me? I’ve lived in LA for a decade.”

Rey did not mention to him that a decade ago she was in primary school. “It’s just my nature. My need to not be alone. Goes with the whole people leaving me thing.”

Ben turned onto his side, arm circling his torso. Yeah, it was definitely a response to Rey. To hold his heart in, to protect himself even though she’d never done a thing to hurt him. It was a reflexive action. “I used to be better, back in New York, back before my dad died.” He could hear her breathing. It was calming and peaceful. “Can I tell you something?”

“Yes.”

“My old boss, the one who called me into the office when my parents were visiting, he died a year ago.”

Rey felt herself tense, waiting for something worse to spill from his lips. She wasn’t afraid, but she was far too empathetic to be stoic. She was reminded of how she had sobbed for a good ten minutes after he’d told her about his dad.

“And for a while, I was horribly happy. I was glad he was gone. Ecstatic. He’d been a looming presence, reminding me of that night every time he came into my office or his name popped up in an email. And then he died and I was overjoyed. It felt like retribution.”

She whispered out his name, eyebrows knit together because his voice was hollow and sad and she wished she were next to him instead of here in her room.

“And I kept that inside of me for a long time. It got darker and I got happier about it until I hit a low point. And I realized that nothing would bring my dad back. Not Snoke’s death, no amount of anger or bitter happiness I felt. And after that, I just felt sick about everything I’d been feeling and thinking.”

“I think that’s human,” Rey said, resting her phone against her cheek and reaching out her hand as if she could touch his face. It fell onto an empty pillow.

“I still feel that little angry, hollow spot inside of me."

Rey closed her eyes to steady herself and took a deep breath. “I used to be so angry with my parents for leaving me. No one knew who they were, or if they’d died or just left me. I was angry all the time. I got into fights with anyone who looked at me. I got older and it started to feel heavy, like a performance. I’m still angry sometimes, but I know it won’t change anything and I have to remind myself that I made it without them.”

Ben was quiet for a while, eyes closed, the tight emotions in his chest loosening as he breathed and eventually blinked repeatedly to dilute the tears that had collected and glossed over his eyes. “I feel like you could say that you understand me and I’d actually believe it.”

“I want to. I’m trying,” Rey said softly.

“Thank you.” Ben’s voice was quiet, but easily heard through the phones. He fisted his hand under his pillow. “I wish you were here.”

“Me too.”

“I’m glad you called.”

“I meant what I said. You’re not alone. You’ve got me. I’m here for you. Please talk to me. Whenever you need to.”

“I will.” The silence stretched between them and he checked the time, squinting at the dimmed phone screen as though it was the sun. “Don’t you have to get ready for work?”

“I do,” Rey groaned, shoving her face into the pillow. “And all I want to do is get into a cab and find your place.”

Ben gripped his phone. “You have no idea how much I would love that.”

“I think I do. But I can’t. I never skip days at work. But...text me when you need to, okay?”

“I will.” He repeated. “I’ll be busy these next few weeks after the trip so I may not be able to text until after work.”

“That’s okay. I’m here.” He heard rustling through her side as she threw off her cocoon of covers and sat up. “Bye, Ben.”

“Bye, Rey.”


	4. First Date Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey's first date!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thus begins some bigger chunks of text for [this twitfic](https://twitter.com/hunkbuster/status/1225072046197166082)! Be sure to check the twitter thread between each chapter uploaded :D

Rey squinted at her phone. It was hard to see under the sun even at full screen brightness mostly because it was an old phone that was barely limping along. Rose was a step behind her and Finn and Poe were talking adamantly about  _ something _ a few steps behind. Rey felt a little like a kid being dropped up at her first date, age 11 at an arcade. It was sweet if a little annoying.

“I think this is it,” she muttered to herself. Vacation season was in full swing so there were a number of people and tourists but that was normal; it was Santa Monica after all. 

The pin Ben had sent was just up ahead so she put her phone in her small bag and raised a hand to shield her eyes. She continued taking small steps forward and then, quite suddenly as if she’d stepped into a rom-com, she saw him.

It was easy to spot him, he was tall and his hair was dark, unlike most of the blondes that were walking around the beach. She saw him and wanted to continue with the rom-com and run to him, but she also wanted to keep her cool. Her stomach had butterflies, but they were calm and exciting.

Ben saw her a moment later and smiled, shoving his phone in his pocket. He couldn’t quite believe she was here. He made his way through the obstacle course of a crowd that he had somehow gotten into the middle of and walked toward her.

“Ben,” Rey said, and his heart lurched in his chest because of her speaking his name unfiltered by a phone. She grinned, so wide he could see the dimple in her cheek, the wrinkles around her eyes. 

He was stunned into silence. He wanted to do and say a million different things at once but instead he just looked at her.

“Ahem.” There was no doubt that the shorter woman beside Rey was Rose. She eyed him up and down like she had x-ray vision and was making sure he wasn’t packing weapons. “Okay so Finn and Poe and I,” Ben’s eyes flickered over to two guys standing a little ways away, looks of amusement and approval on their faces, “are gonna be just over there in case Rey wants to leave.”

Rose pointed two fingers at herself then at Ben before she squeezed Rey’s arm and left, joining Finn and Poe.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” he said the instant Rose was out of earshot.

Rey’s smile softened a bit. It was strange to think that she wasn’t nervous at all. Excited, yes, relieved even. “I can’t believe you’re so tall,” she mused. She wasn’t all that short herself and her wedge sandals made her even taller, but he was just...big. His width of his shoulders was twice her own. She could not fathom how someone older than her that looked like  _ that _ wanted to know her. But here they were.

Still feeling the eyes of her friends on him, Ben nodded toward the cafe just beside them. She followed him and they found a table there outside.

“Sorry about the entourage,” Rey said, resting an elbow on the table and placing her chin in her palm. “Rose insisted. She wanted to make sure you weren’t a creep.”

“It’s totally fine,” he said and he meant it. Which was precisely why he’d thought to do something out among people first. He wanted to make sure Rey was as comfortable as possible. Though she looked pretty confident and comfortable so far. 

Rey gazed at him, interrupted by the waitress who took their drink orders--latte and americano--and once the woman was gone, Rey sighed. “I feel like...I need to make sure you’re real,” she said, the tiniest hints of red appearing on her cheeks. 

It had felt like the universe was holding its breath this whole time. And Ben’s hand was just laying there on the tabletop. She reached over and gently slid her hand over the back of his fingers. (A pleasant bolt of electricity flooded Ben’s system when their skin met.) He  _ was _ real, flesh and bone and not some figment of her imagination. Her thumb hooked around his and she left her hand there, his skin rougher and warmer than her own. His hand was quite literally twice her size. 

She almost made a size comment then thought better of it. Her stomach did a happy flip when he rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand. “Okay so you’re real.”

“Yep,” he said, that same tiny smile on his face from that photo he’d sent her. The one from Phasma. 

Her heart melted a bit. “Oh!” She reluctantly took her hand away and fished around in the small bag at her side. “Business first.” She pulled her wallet half out and plucked out a generic starter check from it. 

“Ah,” Ben said, eyebrows raising slightly as she handed the check to him. Her handwriting was tiny but consistent like a font, and he didn’t miss the  _ Rey Niima _ written in the top corner. Nor did he miss the $150.00 written in the payment box. “You don’t have to pay for the whole thing.”

“Extra work, remember?” She waved a hand. “I am capable of paying you back. I just wanted to get it out of the way. Besides, it’s not like you need it as an excuse to talk to me anymore.”

Their drinks were set down on the table, giving Ben a chance to tuck the check away and think about how to respond. “Well thanks,” he said, and he meant it. If she hadn’t been the kind of person who’d think to pay for damage her dog did, he’d never have met her beyond that one fleeting, hilarious moment in the park.

“Anything for you.” The words came easily and she definitely believed it. He was unlike anyone she’d dated before. For one, he’d been in her life longer than any of them and while a few months may seem like a short amount of time, it was long for Rey. She was a lot to handle in person, so perhaps it was good that they got to know each other over text first. “Why are we drinking coffee at 4PM?” she asked after a moment.

“I have a whole night planned. And I know you get up early so I figured…”

“You wanted to make sure I stayed awake?” She laughed, almost snorting, but catching herself before she did. “I barely want to blink and miss a thing, I don’t think I’ll suddenly fall asleep on you.”

He chuckled and sipped his drink and glanced over at one of many food carts and easily found Rose and Finn and Poe casually sitting nearby. “Do you want to walk?”

Rey glanced over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes at her friends. She loved them dearly but she wanted to be  _ alone _ with Ben. That was the whole point. “Yes,” she said.

Two minutes later, they had their drinks in paper cups and started walking. Ben even lifted a hand in a wave of acknowledgement toward her friends before they started walking in the opposite direction. It was summer so the beach was full but most people had gone to lunch so the sidewalks were easy enough to navigate.

The wind, salt-tinged and warm, played with the hem of Rey’s dress even with Ben to her right, blocking most of the gusts. She slid her palm against his and laced their fingers together, holding on tight and leaning close to him. They walked at a leisurely pace, talking about a whole number of things. Rey told him about Bee’s current behavior--favorable, maybe next time she’d bring him with her. Ben still wouldn’t spill about his job, but he was honest with her about the possibility of traveling a lot at the end of the year if the Australia trip proved fruitful. 

They walked until the sand gave way to a rocky outcrop and the crowd thinned. Their drinks were long gone, as were any prying eyes belonging to her friends. Rey continued taking a step as Ben stopped, their joined hands stopping her from getting far and turning her to face him. It was different now than before; there was no Rose next to her, no table between them.

All of his words, all of  _ her _ words, flowed back to them both. Rey tried very hard not to bite her bottom lip.

“Oh,” she said instead, voice a little shaky. There was very little space between them, and he wanted to kiss her and dig his hands into her hair--which was down and windblown--and she wanted very badly to kiss him and feel his sturdy chest under her hands.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look?” he asked, voice low enough to be heard by her.

“Not yet,” she said, their hands parting. She rested hers against his t-shirt and shuddered when he slid his hands against her neck, palms large enough to rest against her jaw, thumbs against her cheek. 

“You are so beautiful, Rey,” he said, and she found her arms tucking into the warmth between his suit jacket and t-shirt, sliding around his torso, fingertips digging into his back muscles. “Pictures are one thing but to see you here…”

She smiled _ just _ enough, eyes on his eyes. She wasn’t opposed to looking people in the eye but sometimes it felt weird but this felt  _ right _ . His eyes were a lovely warm brown, the sun above them showing flecks of lighter amber tones within.

“I can’t actually think straight,” he confessed, laughing a little. “I don’t want to take my eyes off of you.”

“I want to kiss you,” she said, the words sounding bold and feeling luxurious walking off her tongue and seeing the clear look of desire in his eyes reflected back at her. “But I think I wouldn’t be able to stop and that wouldn’t make much of a first date, would it?”

“Third or fifth.”

“What?”

“Third or fifth date. You said this could be like our third or fifth.” He smiled whole-heartedly, teeth a little crooked that just added to his charm. Their conversations, texts and phone calls, were embedded in his brain possibly forever. Having her here was a dream. He leaned forward, resting their foreheads together lightly.

“Right!” She closed her eyes and forgot about the people around, feeling the warmth from him seeping into her arms. “Still, not much of a date. I know you planned things.”

He stayed still for a while, before gently brushing his thumbs across the apples of her cheeks and stepping a half step back. “I did. Nothing crazy though. No fireworks or caviar.”

“Honestly caviar sounds fancy but I bet it tastes gross,” she scrunched up her nose.

He let that slide. “I just wanted to spend time with you.”

“Me too.” Her hold on him loosened and her senses returned. She could hear music from numerous speakers along the beachfront; the sound of people yelling and calling to each other, not to mention the seagulls; and the sea air was warm and salty. They were not, in fact, in their own little world. “I wouldn’t even mind if you took my suggestions.” She grinned.

“I may have,” he said, taking her hand in his and walking back the way they came. “It’s a bit of a drive back to my place.”

Her stomach flipped on its own accord. “Your place?”

“Is that okay?”

“Yes.”

“I was gonna make dinner.”

Rey stopped short, tugging on his arms. She had tears swimming in her eyes and Ben panicked. “What did I say? Are you okay?”

“You’re gonna cook dinner for me?” she asked, overwhelmed.

His brows quirked quizzically. “Yeah…”

She sniffed and swiped at her cheeks. “That’s real sweet,” she said and laughed to clear her throat. “Sorry, no one’s ever offered to cook me dinner before. I mean, Rose will order pizza or give me ramen in a cup but.” She shrugged and blinked, cheeks pink.

Ben stood there, looking at her, processing. His expression turned to amazement, the layer on top of the ache in his chest at the thought of her life--angry, hard, unloved--but since she was the one who told him that moving forward was the best way to get on with your life, he wouldn’t allow himself to show his own anger at her past and what she had to deal with.

Instead, he just put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side. “I promise I’m not going to give you pizza or ramen,” he said as her arm went around his back and they fell into step together. “Unless you want me to. I mean, I could.”

She laughed. “That was so stupid, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

“I am happy with any food. I’m basically a human garbage disposal.” She paused and made a face he couldn’t see. “Which is not the best image to associate me with. Forget I said that.”

He squeezed her shoulders and guided her off the boardwalk toward the streets where his car was parked. “I may have also gotten some paint.”

“Paint?” Once again, it took her a moment to remember. “Oh! Are we going to paint your apartment? If you’d told me I would have worn...not this.” She brushed her free hand over the flowy material of her dress: baby blue with small white daisies.

“It was uh...just a random thought. I’ve got a lot of bare walls.”

“It’ll be fun!”


	5. The Date Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The date continues with a _gasp_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part of [my twitfic](https://twitter.com/hunkbuster/status/1225072046197166082). Y'all know the drill.

Ben lived on the outskirts of West LA so the traffic wasn’t as bad as going downtown, but it still took a while to get there. Rey talked the whole time except the occasional text she sent away on her phone. After Rose’s last text, she turned the sound off and shoved it back into her bag.

“I’m not sure I could have taken you seriously if you lived in Hollywood or Beverly Hills,” she said, peering out the window. “Or God, Bel Air.” Despite the fact that her future probably lay in filmmaking, she wasn’t ignorant enough to think of movie making being glamorous. She never wanted to be in front of the camera, unless she was driving and unrecognizable, and she had acquired a great dislike of most anything Hollywood fame thanks to Finn.

“I do not,” Ben said. “I had a tiny studio apartment when I first moved here and it was in Hollywood but I was only there for nine months before I landed my current job.”

“And what did you do before then?”

“Struggle,” he chuckled. “I was one of those people handing out brochures for the celebrity bus tours.”

“No!” She scrunched up her face, trying to imagine baby-faced Ben shoving pamphlets at tourists. One, it was hard to imagine him baby-faced since he was currently sporting facial hair, and two, he was a remarkably quiet man for taking up so much space and she couldn’t see him being forceful to strangers. She laughed at the images her brain cooked up. She could have kicked her feet in delight. 

Her laugh fell into a light giggle and she rested her head against the back of the leather seat, eyes trailing over his profile, wanting desperately to reach out and run her fingers through his hair. Her eyes softened to almost literal heart-eyes. “I love you,” she thought.

The car stuttered to a halt as Ben’s foot slipped on the pedals and she realized she had indeed spoken aloud. “Shit,” she said, heart pounding.

“What?” Ben said, as utterly shocked as a deer in headlights.

“I’m sorry,” she said, fumbling for the door handle. She got it and bolted out of the car, hands shaking. She stepped onto the sidewalk, legs shaking.

Ben, head whirling, heart beating out a heavy staccato against his ribs, put the car into park, flipped on the hazards, not giving two shits about the fact that he was taking over one lane. He got out, almost getting hit by another car zooming past but barely processing.

“Rey!” he called, jogging between parked cars to the sidewalk and easily catching up with her. “Rey, wait…”

He got close and she didn’t stop, face burning, hands shaking so badly she couldn’t even get her phone out of her bag. Ben put his hand on her shoulder, which jarred her into the present. She sucked in a breath and stepped out of his grip, twisting around. She wasn’t sure how she looked, but probably flushed and red faced to be sure.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to say that,” she said, unable to look at him. She was still trying to twist the stupid lock on her bag. This was so not okay. Rose said it would be okay, but she wanted to cry or throw up.

“It’s okay,” he said and she thought he may mean it.

“Not really. I mean this is the first time we’ve ever actually met and I went and said  _ that _ and now I don’t think I can face you ever again.” She moved to turn away again.

Ben watched her take a step or two; floored by her words and her reaction to them. No one reacted like that if they didn’t mean the words they spoke. His chest felt like it was about to explode, but if he let her walk away, he’d never forgive himself. And he had just started to like himself again. Because of her.

“Rey,” he said again, stepping after her. He stopped her more forcefully this time, making her wheel around. For a split second, she looked scared; not of him, but of her feelings. Her lips parted in another protest but she never got that far.

Ben kissed her. He took her face in his hands and kissed her, stealing away any argument. The surprise wore off about a millisecond after their lips touched. Rey’s shaking hands grappled for purchase at his waist and moved them closer together. The opposite of fireworks was a wave that passed over them both; a sigh of the universe finally coming together.

The kiss didn’t last very long, but it may as well have been a lifetime. Slightly dazed, face still flushed, Rey clung to his jacket and he cradled her face in his hand, coaxing her to open her eyes.

“Rey,” he said, soft and gentle. “If you meant it, you should say it again.”

She opened her eyes slowly. The fear was still there, gripping her heart as it tried to break free. Because he was  _ right here _ and the look in his eyes was telling her a million things. But the vulnerability of emotions was a lot to take. She blinked, and he let her take her time.

“Ben,” she said, steeling her courage. “I love you.”

Her words made their way right to his soul. “Thank god,” he breathed out. She frowned at him and he hastily continued. “I haven’t said those words to another human being in a long time. But Rey...I love you. God, you’re amazing, you’re always on my mind and I have no idea how I’ve lasted all these months without being able to touch you.”

Rey’s daze continued to spiral.  _ He _ loved  _ her _ ? She wasn’t expecting that. She was expecting him to accept her words and continue on. She had accepted the love of her friends for the past few years, but this was entirely different. This sent indescribably emotions flooding her system. 

This made her slide her steadying arms up his back, tilt her head and kiss him again. He kept one hand knotted in her hair, the other snaking around her form, holding her close.

She could hardly breathe and broke off the kiss far too soon for both their likings. “I think I need to sit down,” she whispered.

With all the gentleness of someone who truly and deeply cared about her, he planted a soft kiss on her forehead and took her shoulders and guided her back to the car. Numerous cars were beeping at them; just about every one who had to go around his BMW. They ignored it all and he helped her inside. 

He found a single break in traffic to slip behind the wheel and started driving. They were pretty close to his place, but each minute seemed like an hour. Without looking, he reached over to her and she took his hand in hers as she took deep breaths and occasionally rubbed at her eyes, thankful for water and smudge proof mascara--Rose’s idea--and the fact that she didn’t wear makeup usually.

Her whole soul and heart ached, but in a good sort of way. Like that saying  _ hurts so good _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aren't these two the sweetest. Also pulling out all the stops for "Tall, gentle, understanding" Ben Solo :3


	6. The Date Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Ben's date continues...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next installment. It'll be a little while before I post another longer part, so keep up with their texts on [my twitter](https://twitter.com/hunkbuster/status/1225072046197166082)! This installment has a bit of not-G language so the ratings will be going up from here on out.

His place was really fucking nice. There was a garage with assigned parking and everything. Rey was feeling a little less like she was about to shatter into a million pieces when she got out of the car and followed him through the short covered walkway to the lobby. 

“Wow,” she murmured since this place was probably like thousands of dollars a month to live or if they bought out places outright? Millions most likely. “Just how rich are you?”

Ben, half distracted by talking to the security guard, turned his attention back to her and rubbed the back of his neck. “Not as rich as I look,” he said, which was supposed to assure her or something maybe.

They got onto the elevator--which was classy as hell--and he pressed the appropriate floor button.

“Are you doing better?” he asked. Both of them were still flustered and a little emotionally raw from the streetside occurrence. He gently took her hand in his, fingers laced together and kissed the back of her hand.

She held onto the railing beside her to keep upright. “I think so. I’m still…” She waved a hand around, her face settling into a normal, non-upset blush.

“Yeah, me too,” he said and she  _ knew _ he wasn’t just saying that.

The elevator stopped and they stepped out into a small foyer with two doors. Ben turned to the one on the left, unlocked it and then pushed the door open for her. “Go ahead.”

She went. It was five, the sun was still up in the sky, but he flicked on some of the lights when he followed her in.

It was made loft-style, one big open space for the most part. Kitchen on the right with an enormous island. Dinning area beyond the kitchen, the wall jutting in from the balcony outside, the table a huge slab of wood, six matching seats around it. The extra space was made into a living arrangement, with two designer looking couches and a comfy chair that looked like it got the most use. To the left were three doors. Two closed, one open to reveal a bathroom.

“Wow,” Rey said. The space was, as he said, pretty empty besides the basic furniture. The walls were a light grey. The only walls with anything on them were on right, where two stacks of bookshelves went floor to ten-foot ceiling on the interior wall between kitchen and dining room. True to his word there were some big cloths on the floor behind the dining table and a number of paint cans of all sizes.

“Is that a good wow or a bad wow?” Ben asked, hovering at her elbow as she took it all in.

“My entire apartment could fit in your dining room,” she said. Which she had expected, sorta. It didn’t really bother her. 

Ben took off his jacket, hanging it by the wall and gently offered to take her bag to hang as well. She handed it over and wandered inside. On the wall between the doors on the left there were a few photos. There was a recent one, probably just a few years ago, of Ben and who she easily figured to be his parents. He looked a little less sad, a little lighter. It made it sad but made her smile too, because at least he had  _ something _ of himself here in this big, empty space.

There was also an adorable one from his teenage years and he looked so awkward she had to stifle a laugh. 

“So books,” she pointed, “photos,” pointed, “and literally nothing else? Yeah I would go crazy living here.” She turned on her heel, and there was Ben, hands in jeans pockets, just watching her, looking content as a cat in a beam of sunlight. “Not that I’m saying you’re crazy but yeah.”

She moved toward the hard corner of one of the couches, using it to steady herself as she pried off her wedges, revealing periwinkle blue toes that Rose had painted that morning. She left her shoes by the couch, standing in his apartment barefoot and emotionally raw.

And then, she spotted it. Lying by the front door. A soft black briefcase.

“Ohmygod,” she gushed out, rushing past him and picking it up. It was full, heavier than she’d expected, but she managed not to drop it.

Ben chuckled and joined her, holding up one side. She’d expected the damage to be worse, but it wasn’t like it was missing a huge chunk of leather. It was the top corner, where the flap was soft and the seam was stiff on the actual case. She could see the teeth marks, small indents that hadn’t smoothed out, and a number of punctures from Bee’s pointy teeth had left little holes and rips all along that side.

“Oh that cheeky little bugger,” she muttered, shaking her head.

“I told you it was fine.”

“You’re still using it?” She made a face.

“Yes. It makes me think of you.”

Her face smoothed into a human version of her favorite puppy-eyed emoji. “Ben,” she said softly, releasing the bag. Luckily he’d taken one side, though it slipped and he grasped the over-the-shoulder strap and lowered it to the ground. 

She threw herself at him. Not even to kiss him, but just to hug. She wrapped her arms around his torso and buried her face in his chest, Rose’s voice in her head saying, “Don’t leave room for Jesus, y’all are adults”, which made her laugh but kept her close to him anyway.

Ben sighed, his ribs slightly constricted by her tight grip but he didn’t mind. His arms wrapped around her and one cradled the back of her neck. He rested his cheek against her head. How long had it been since he’d hugged anyone who wasn’t family? Years. He was probably still in New York. He closed his eyes and held her close and breathed her in, perfectly okay with staying like this indefinitely.

“This is nice,” he murmured after a while, rubbing his hand in small circles on her lower back.

“Mmm,” she agreed, nodding against his chest before finally letting go and tilting her torso back. She felt a little unsteady again, but it was just them at least so she could do whatever she wanted and no one would know. Except Ben, of course, who had never pushed her to do or say anything at all.

And there he was, looking at her like she’d hung the moon and stars in the sky and she suddenly wanted to do all the things she’d told him she wanted to do. She slowly drew her arms from his back and gently rested her hand against his cheek and swiped her thumb across his lips. She had already kissed them, but the kiss was like a hazy dream and now she could take her time.

Ben’s hands settled on her hips, the heat from his palms seeping through her dress. His hands felt massive, like they could circle her waist completely. Without her shoes, she had to push herself to her toes to kiss him, gently at first, her hands finding their way to his hair. God she’d wanted to run her hands through it for months and it was just as soft as she’d envisioned.

Twining her arms around his neck, she pressed herself flush against him and broke the softer kiss for a moment before going back in for more. One of his arms steadied her and the other hand fisted her dress, very obviously trying to stop himself from grabbing her ass. Eventually her mouth parted and she tasted his tongue and an unexpected moan escaped from the back of her throat.

He was sturdy as a house until that moment and stumbled back, thankfully saved by the kitchen island, though it jarred his spine forcefully. The force broke the kiss and Rey forced herself down on her flat feet, face flush, fingers tied up in the hair at the back of his neck.

“Are you okay?”

Ben nodded, head spinning, trying very hard to mentally override all the blood rushing to his cock and squeezed her hips. “Very okay,” he said. Which was true. He leaned down for a chaste kiss before moving her away and walking around the island. “So, about dinner.”

Rey’s eyes lit up at the thought of food. “Yes please,” she said, slowly making her way to the outward facing side of the island. There were two tall stools tucked under the counter and she pulled one out to sit on. She tucked her ankles together and watched him moving through the cabinets, pulling out some pans and other things. “I still can’t believe you’re gonna cook me something.”

He flashed her a small smile. “I’m a pretty decent cook.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” she teased as he filled a pan and set it on the stove to boil. 

“Do you want something to drink?”

She nodded and a minute later she had a glass in her hand filled with red wine. He definitely spent a lot of time in the kitchen, she could tell because he looked comfortable in it. He went about chopping fresh spices and some vegetables and soon the apartment smelled quite fantastic.

They talked the whole time, mostly her asking him about his job, trying to get him to slip up. He didn’t. An hour later, there was a delicious plate of mushroom and chicken and cheesy risotto put in front of her. She was on her second half-glass of wine, face flush but happy.

Rey had been right with the assumption about his dining room table. He only ever used one chair, the others having never been moved since it was delivered. But she pulled one of them out and sat down in it, resisting the urge to sit lotus style because she was in a dress, and dug in.

“This is amazing,” she said, three seconds later.

Ben chuckled. “It’s deceptively easy to make.”

She shook her head, waving her fork at him. “Don’t even. Take the compliment. You’re amazing.”

The tips of his ears, hidden in his hair, turned red. “Thanks.”

Rey was starving, having accidentally missed lunch while rushing from work to home to get ready. Her attention kept drifting to the big blank wall just begging for attention.

“What did you want to do with that?” she asked finally, nodding over to the wall. 

“No idea.” Ben shrugged. “It was your idea.”

She rolled her eyes in amusement and thought about it while finishing off her plate and wine. Standing, she walked over to the wall, the dropcloth rough under her feet. Spinning around, she leaned back against the wall and threw her arms out to both sides. “What do you think? A self portrait of me right here?” She grinned.

Ben pushed his seat back and looked at her, seriously considering it. “You could do that?”

“Maybe.” She shrugged. She was a fair artist, and it didn’t always have to be abstract either. Sure, makeup was abstract, but give her a pen and paper and she could make something pretty. “If you wanted. Or you could just get a full sized picture of me and paste it up there.”

“I definitely wouldn’t mind the view.”

Rey flushed a bit and dragged her eyes from him over to the wall of books to her left. “Or,” she said, walking over and tilting her head to read the spines, “I could do something inspired by one of these.” There were a lot of classics there, epics and romances and dramas, and a lot of names she didn’t recognize. There were not any of the typical mainstream authors there. Which was good. She may have had to break up with him if she saw a James Patterson title on his shelves.

“Anything would be better than what I’ve got,” Ben said, standing and clearing off the table. As the sounds of dishing clinking together filled the space, Rey returned to the wall. She sat down on the dropcloth, tucking her legs under herself and running her fingertips over the various paintbrushes laid out. None of them were all that big, with the largest the width of her hand, and smaller from there.

“Since you said you’d handpaint,” Ben said, joining her on the ground, “figured you’d need those.”

She nodded as he got comfortable, bringing one leg up and hooking his elbow around it. Rey squinted at the wall, already imagining what she could put there. What would she want him to see all the time to remind him of herself?

Her mind momentarily skipped to a future where he didn’t  _ want _ to remember her and slapped more grey paint over it, but she shook that aside and instead turned to meet his eyes. 

“If what you said earlier was true,” she started, her heart protesting and beating fast beneath her breast. “When did you...when did you realize that you loved me?”

Ben’s expression softened and he took a deep, relaxing breath and let it out slowly. “Does it sound bad if I say I don’t know?”

Rey watched him quietly, not exactly expecting, but not judging. She was curious how this whole thing happened and she wanted to make sure it was real. 

“I mean...I haven’t had to...I haven’t been in a place to let those feelings into my life in a long time,” Ben continued, running his head through his hair, a vaguely nervous tick he did when he was posed with a detailed problem or question. “It was probably a long time ago. When I fell. For you.” Her cheeks reddened and he smiled and glanced down at her hands, which were clasped in her lap. “I think I realized it that last time we talked. When you called me at five in the morning.”

Their eyes met and Rey smiled a little sheepishly. That was definitely a turning point for her, too.

“You’re the only person I can tell shit to and not feel judged about it. And when you say that you understand...you actually do.”

“I feel the same way,” she said, reaching toward him. His free hand met hers and their fingers laced together.

Ben hummed, content, before asking her the same question.

She blushed, her whole face flushing red. “Oh um...I think it happened a long time ago.”

He squeezed her hand. “Tell me.”

“Remember when...I went away and you told me about your father?” Ben nodded solemnly and she pushed on. “It started then. When I texted you pissed a few days after that...I think drunk me wanted to tell you.”

Ben’s eyebrows raised in surprise and amusement. That was indeed a long time ago. 

Rey continued. “But for real? When I let myself realize it and think it…” She scrunched up her nose and tilted her head back to search the ceiling for courage. “I think after that phone call too. I just couldn’t help it. And when you sent me that photograph that Phasma took. Just...the look on your face. It told me that you loved me and that it was okay for me to love you too.” By the time she finished speaking, she was looking at him again.

And there it was. That same look from the picture.

It made her knees feel weak, which was fine since she was sitting down, but it also made her stomach flip and her heart stutter. “Exactly like that,” she whispered.

“And you didn’t tell me?” He’d sent that photo a couple weeks ago now.

“I was scared,” she said in a rush. “I’d never let anyone get so close to me before. Or...me to someone either. And apparently that meant I just blurted it out on our fir--third or fifth date anyway.”

Ben said her name softly and untangled their hands to touch her face. Rey trembled under his fingertips. She blinked once, twice and he was on his knees and dragging her to her own, hands cupping her face. He tilted her head with his thumbs under her jaw and kissed her, open mouthed and hungry.

Rey’s hands went to his waist to steady herself. Electricity ran through her limbs, jolting her heart and stealing her breath. She returned the kiss with equal fervor. God, he was a truly supreme kisser, and she tried to match it but feared she was failing. He didn’t protest, or seem to notice, and when she shivered under his touch this time it was not laced with fear.

Just when she thought her lungs would burst, his lips left hers and moved down her jaw, toward her neck. Rey was having a hard time staying upright, thankful for his hands gripping her hips. His name slipped out over and over, her head tilting back, eyes fluttering close, hands gripping his shoulders.

His teeth lightly scraped the column of her neck and the pool of growing warmth in her middle spread. Which was amazing and exciting and fantastic and god yes she wanted to keep going but she also felt exhausted. And the night was already proving to be perfect. She didn’t know if this would ruin it, or if they kept going would do the same, but she chose the safer option.

“Ben,” she said, voice a little stronger. She pressed her hands down on his shoulders, fighting with herself to stop. He said something against her skin that she couldn’t make sense of, but he loosened his grip on her hips and slowly dragged his lips from her neck when she said his name again. 

Wobbly and light headed, Rey settled back on her heels, hands against his neck. The look in his eyes, the yearning and need, made her want to say fuck it, but she was nothing if determined when she set her mind to something.

“I’m...I need a minute,” she said. She was panting a bit and flush all over. He nodded, breathing deep and sinking back to the floor. Taking a few deep breaths of her own, Rey eventually sighed and leaned forward, letting her head rest against his chest. “You’re very good at that.”

“Is that a compliment I have to acknowledge?” he asked, voice thick and deep and twisting her center like a pleasurable knife. 

“No. Just an observation.” He put his hand to the back of her neck and hers slid to his sides as she straightened her back to look at him. “Please don’t break up with me.”

Confusion spilled over his face. “What for?”

Embarrassed, not to mention feeling the full weight of the emotional wringer from earlier, she covered her face with her hands and used them to muffle the words. “I can’t sleep with you tonight.”

The breath that Ben let out could have been a chuckle. It was small, amused and affectionate. “Okay.”

She peeked through her fingers. “Okay?”

“Yeah. I don’t...I don’t care if we have sex now or in a year. I mean...I’d love to because Rey, you’re radiant and I can barely control myself around you, but I’d understand. I don’t want to be with you just because of that.” He paused and pried her hands off her face. “I do recall telling you very specifically how much I love who you are as a person. That means a lot to me.”

Rey also remembered that. “But I keep...starting things and leaving.”

“Once or twice,” Ben shrugged, honestly. “I don’t care. I don’t want you to do something you don’t want to.”

“Oh...I want to. I’m just...a little worn thin. This has been quite the afternoon.”

He nodded. It had. This was the first time they’d seen each other since that fateful morning all those months ago. The first time they’d touched. And kissed. And said those three words. And had their first, third or fifth date. Okay yeah, it was a lot. 

Ben lifted her hands to his lips and kissed the backs of both of them before helping Rey to her feet. “We have all the time in the world, don’t we?”

She nodded fiercely. “Yes. I need that second...sixth date asap.” She grinned.

“Me too,” he replied, and then they were kissing again. It was her fault really. She wove her fingers into his hair and pulled him toward her and what else was there to do? 

Rey pulled back first. “I don’t want to leave.”

“But…”

“But if I stay.” She shook her head, gave him one final chaste kiss and detached herself from his grasp. With all the strength of Wonder Woman, she walked to her shoes and slid them on, signalling to her body that it was time to  _ go _ .

“I’ll call you a ride,” Ben said, pulling out his phone and slowly making his way toward her as she walked to the door. She grabbed her bag and put it over her shoulder before wiping her mouth off with her thumbs and dragging her fingers through her hair in hopes that Ben hadn’t messed too much with it. 

She would have protested that he didn’t need to but that would have been yet another excuse to stay longer. And she already didn’t want to leave.

Ben came up behind her and touched her shoulder. She twisted around, more easily able to look him in the eye now in her wedges. “This has been a great, whatever number date,” she said with a soft, genuine smile.

“I agree.” He took her head in his hands again--so much for her hair--and pressed their foreheads together. “I love you, Rey,” he breathed out. “I mean it. I can wait forever for you.”

Her stomach flipped. “I need to get used to hearing that,” she said, circling his wrists with her hands. “And saying it.”

“That’s okay too.”

“You can’t be real. No guy is this chill.”

He opened his eyes and shook his head. “I don’t want to lose you or jeopardize your trust in me.”

“I stand by what I said. Too good to be true.” But she was smiling. She wasn’t one hundred percent serious.

“You make me want to be.” 

Ben kissed her once more, and she almost decided to stay. But then his phone beeped and broke the moment. Her car was waiting.

Shuffling back toward the door, Rey opened it and Ben followed her out to the foyer area.

“I’ll walk you down,” Ben offered.

Rey thought about being in a small enclosed space with him for any amount of time and shook her head. “No, it’s okay. I’ll be fine.” She kissed him on the cheek and backed up toward the elevator. “Goodnight, Ben.”

“Goodnight, Rey.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I made Ben Solo into the perfect boyfriend? Yes, yes I have.


	7. Starbucks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben is dragged away by work once again but Rey isn't letting him go so easily this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet another small scene from [Meet-Cute](https://twitter.com/hunkbuster/status/1225072046197166082). Thanks for all your support guys!

Rey was currently back-arched, biting her lower lip, eyes shut, hand between her legs, fingers slick and her breath hitched in her throat, when her phone rang. She jerked, jamming her fingers toward her g-spot and swallowing a moan as she scrambled for her phone with her free hand, wiping the other on her ratty t-shirt she was currently sporting.

She saw Ben’s name and photo and her already thudding heart beat faster. She made a face at her hair sticking to her sweaty temples and cheeks as she tried to move the strands out of the way to answer.

“Ben?” she said, wondering if he could tell that she was so breathless.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to just call.” He sounded distracted.

Rey pushed herself up and rested back against the wall, taking deep, slow breaths, willing herself to cool down. “It’s okay. Is something wrong?” It had been a few hours since he’d cut off her attempts at sexy texting to run to a work meeting.

“Not wrong per say.”

“But wrong regular say?”

He chuckled and her heart clenched, as did her thighs. “I have to take off again.”

It took a moment for the words to sink in. “As in...to Australia.”

“Yes. This should be the last time before October if it all goes well.” He was rushing, trying to get through the negatives to the positives. It didn’t take a genius to see that he didn’t want to disappoint her or leave her, even for a short time.

Rey stared across her tiny bedroom at the opposite wall, plastered with makeup ads and fashion pages from a hundred magazines. “How long will you be gone this time?”

“Three days. It’s a formality, but I have to put a pen to paper so I need to be there.” 

“Oh,” she said, trying to eat up time. Her mind was whirling a million miles a minute, like a pinball machine.

“What’s wrong? Shit, is it because we just saw each other and I’m leaving again? I swear, Rey, I’m coming back to you.”

She smiled ever so slightly at his words, because she did believe him. The thoughts, nagging evil little things, were always there, but he proved again and again that he was not going to just drop her and leave. It would be kind of hard since she could easily get into his place.

“My birthday is coming up,” she blurted out. “It’s not a big deal but then Rose mentioned it was probably a big deal and now I can’t stop thinking about it. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

Ben took a deep breath and let it out, muffling the phone for a moment. “Tell me I won’t be gone for it.”

“No. I don’t think so. It’s the 20th,” she said. She had no calendar hung up on her walls and was currently too occupied to remember which day it was today and to count them out.

“I’ll be back August 19th. Supposedly. Wait, is it the 19th here or there?” He growled a bit and Rey indeed felt that right through her center and down to her toes. Rose would be smug if she knew. “I’ll be back. I promise.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“It is. What kind of asshole would I be to leave you alone on your birthday?”

“If I can see you, that’s all I want.”

“I’ll make it happen. What do you want to do?”

She could hear a bunch of shuffling and muffled noises from his side of the phone. “What are you doing?”

“Packing. We rushed and got a flight that leaves at nine.”

“That’s five hours from now.” She sprang up from the mattress and started pulling on panties and denim shorts. “Can I see you? Before you leave? I don’t care if it’s for five minutes outside a Starbucks.”

LAX was a bitch and Ben would definitely need three or four hours to get through security and all that shit. But for Rey? “Yes. I’ll send you an address. I don’t know how far away from your place it is.”

She’d never told him where she lived--East Hollywood--which was relatively close to him when it came to anywhere in Cali being close, but it wasn’t in the same direction as the airport. “It doesn’t matter.”

She had no time to shower, but it was hot as hell out so she could blame the sweatiness on that. She paused only to wash her hands and at least attempt to fix her hair, dragging her fingers through it and pulling it back in a messy bun before she bolted outside. 

The pin was near the Natural History Museum and it took them almost the same amount of time to get there. Ben had a driver, who circled the block instead of parking and Rey had gotten a cab, Rose having taken their shared car. The cab took off once she paid, but there were plenty around for the trip back. 

They were in fact in front of a Starbucks, which Rey thought was amusing. Ben kept taking her stupid little suggestions and following through with them and it warmed her right down to her rapidly beating heart. 

He was easy to spot, standing tall and actively looking for her, dressed in a suit. Well, what was left of a suit. His tie and jacket were gone and the top buttons on his light blue shirt were undone, sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

He looked so damn good, she didn’t want to let him go.

In contrast, she was in cutoff shorts, Chucks and had exchanged her sex shirt for a tank-top because it was about ten-thousand degrees out. He looked like he’d just walked out of a magazine and she looked like a hot mess.

“Ben!” she called out, because she’d been stupidly dropped off on the wrong side of the road. She put her life in the hands of the universe and darted across to his side. He spotted her and met her at the curb between two cars. She tossed herself at him without slowing down, and he easily caught her, lifting her clear off the ground.

Ben squeezed her around the torso and buried his face in her neck. She held on around his neck and whimpered a little when he let her go and she slid down to the ground. “I’m sorry I look like a disaster,” she said, pushing annoying flyaway bits of hair back.

Instead of answering, he took her face in his hands and kissed her. She responded in turn, clinging to him and not caring one iota that they were in the middle of a sidewalk. Her whole body sang to life.

“I have like five minutes,” Ben panted, dropping his hands and taking one of hers, pulling her away from the streetside toward a slightly more secluded area behind a brick column. 

She nodded, squeezing his hand. “I’m sorry to drop the birthday thing on you. I’m not a huge birthday person. Except for other people.”

Ben rested against the column and pulled her toward him. She fit nicely between his legs, her hands going to his chest to stop from completely colliding with him. They  _ were _ still in public so some restraint needed to be exhibited. His hands circled her waist, slipping under her shirt and pressing against her bare skin. “I’m glad you told me. I want to do something special for you.”

“You’re pretty special,” she said, grinning.

He didn’t really believe her, but he did smile softly at her, his eyes making her knees all wobbly.

“And there is all that paint I didn’t use. We could just continue our first date.”

Ben shook his head, leaning forward and stealing another kiss before continuing. “I can get you from work or your place. Food truck?”

She laughed but nodded in agreement.

“We can do whatever you’d want. Go out for drinks, dancing, whatever. I’ll do anything.”

She thought about it as the seconds sipped by. “I just want to be with you. In your place. In your bed,” she added, voice dropping low. She leaned in to kiss him, deeper this time, letting one of her hands briefly brush the front of his pants which was bold as hell for her. Ben dug his fingertips into her hips in response and pulled her momentarily too close for acceptable PDA just as his watch started to beep.

Both panting, they broke apart and stood. Rey snatched Ben’s hand after he turned off the alarm and kissed the back of it, folding his fingers around hers for a moment before letting go.

“I know you have to go.”

Ben was very ready to put off his trip, job be damned, but he couldn’t do that and he knew that. Shaking his head, he slid his hand around the side of her ribcage and pressed a kiss to her temple. “Text me. I’ll have my phone all the time.”

She grinned. “I will.” He started to head toward the sleek black car he knew to be his ride when he felt a tug at his wrist and he half turned, finding himself colliding with her once again. She tugged him down for one final kiss, lips curling into a smile millimeters from his own as she whispered, “I love you” and released him.

“I love you, Rey,” he murmured back, giving one last chaste kiss before he hurried off to the awaiting car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you thought I'd write a fluffy AU without a "run and jump into his arms" moment you don't know me at all.


	8. Rey's Birthday (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey's birthday has arrived!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short part in preparation for some much longer chapters next ;)  
> Be sure to check out [the full thread here!](https://twitter.com/hunkbuster/status/1225072046197166082)

Rey had enough time to throw some clothes and toiletries into a bag, shave everything that needed shaving and take a three minute shower. She piled her hair in a bun on the top of her head and pulled on short cropped wide-legged trousers and ankle socks and a black tanktop. There was a coldspell--well a coldspell for LA, which meant it was the middle of August and it was only fifty-seven degrees out right now--and so she pulled on her most obnoxious jacket. It was multi-colored, multi-patterned and ridiculous but it was her birthday so she felt like wearing it. She’d already put a slinky black dress in her bag for later at Rose’s prompting.

The soft knock on her flat door made her heart jump as she leaned down to pull on her Chucks. Shoving her right foot into the shoe, she unlocked the slider and deadbolt and pulled the door open.

Ben stood there in jeans and a black t-shirt and as he opened his mouth to say happy birthday to her, she was already pulling him inside and drawing her face down to hers to kiss him. Without thinking, Rey jumped into his arms, her legs easily going around his waist, his hands steadying her hips. He laughed into their kiss and she kissed him deeper, arms around his neck.

“Ahem,” Rose cleared her throat from behind them.

Rey paused, breaking the kiss and grinned at Ben before getting down. “It’s my birthday,” Rey said as an excuse as she walked forward to grab a drowsy Bee from Rose’s arms.

“I know,” Rose said in a tone that meant she  _ really _ understood and also full-heartedly supported Rey’s enthusiasm.

“Hey, Rose,” Ben said, lifting one of his hands in greeting. He dwarfed their already small apartment. Two bedrooms, a living area and kitchen all squeezed into six hundred square feet.

Rey would have felt embarrassed about it but she knew Ben didn’t care which calmed her down a bit. “And here’s Bee, officially,” Rey said, walking over with her dog who yawned and peered up at Ben with big eyes.

“Hey, Bee,” Ben said, offering up his hand. Bee sniffed and snorted and then licked the back of Ben’s hand. “That’s progress.”

Rey laughed a little and put the dog down. He snuffled around Ben’s feet for a few minutes before tottering off to the corner where the remnants of his dry food breakfast waited.

“And um...this is my place,” Rey said, circling around and waving a hand. “You can see practically everything from here.”

Ben nodded. “It’s cozy.”

Rey knew he was being genuine even as Rose snorted and coughed behind her. Pausing to give Rose a hug and peck on the cheek, the two exchanged a series of giggling whispers before Rey turned to Ben, plucking her backpack off the couch. 

“Ready?”

“Ready,” she said with a smile.

They went out to Ben’s car, put Rey’s bag in the trunk and went off toward downtown. They found a food truck, as previously decided, and ate delicious spicy tamales and corn tortilla tacos under the cool sun and a cooler breeze. Ben said nothing about her outfit and only doted on her, like he always did. Rey was sort of getting used to him thinking she was beautiful, but it still made her cheeks pink.

Then it was to the art exhibit. Rey didn’t want to let go of his hand as they walked, though she soon got too excited about everything she could run through and touch and move that she left his side, only to find him snapping photos of her occasionally. 


	9. Rey's Birthday Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Ben head back to Ben's for more birthday celebrations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks to everyone for reading!
> 
> Make sure to keep up [on Twitter](https://twitter.com/hunkbuster/status/1225072046197166082)!

By the time they left it was already after three and Rey wanted to roam just a little bit before going back to his place.

“We can pick up food for dinner too,” Ben offered, tucking her against his side, his arm across her shoulders. She welcomed his warmth--he wasn’t cold even though his arms were uncovered, which she found really annoying--and put her arm around his back as they walked. 

“Ah another famous Ben Solo masterpiece? Just for me?”

“It is your birthday. We can have whatever you want.”

“I’m going to get so spoiled dating you,” Rey said in a teasing tone.

“Absolutely,” Ben replied with a grin.

With her own smile in place, she guided him toward a storefront that caught her eye. She was in no need for any material items, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t fun to look.

An hour and a half and two bags of food later, they were back in Ben’s car and heading toward his place. 

“So which of these places is Theo and Art’s?” Rey asked, sitting forward and peering through the windshield.

“See that?” Ben motioned toward an old Victorian looking house nestled behind his multi-storied modern building. LA had a lot of those. Old backing up against new. The old struggled to keep a footing in the rapidly growing city, but it gave it character and reminded Rey a lot of home back across the pond. “That’s theirs.”

“So they’re literally your neighbors.”

“Yeah. It wasn’t intentional. I mean I used to see them before, when I was living in other places, but then this came up and it just worked out.” He paused as he changed lanes and slowed down to pull into the parking garage. “They’re like family so it’s nice having them close.”

Rey smiled and sneaked her hand over his as he put the car into park. She lifted his hand and kissed the back of it before cuddling it to his chest. “Speaking of family, have you spoken to your mom lately?”

Ben shifted in his seat and rested his head back so he could face her. “You want to talk about my mom on your birthday?”

“I want to talk about you on my birthday,” she corrected, stroking his hand with her thumbs. “And I care about you so yes I want to see how you’re doing. We’ve barely had a chance to have a serious conversation since…”

“Our last date?” He smiled at her softly. “Okay, just this once. Yes, I talked to my mom again. She’s caught up in Europe now but wants to come here for Christmas.”

Rey’s face brightened. “That’s great! I’m sure she misses seeing you. I know I do whenever you’re gone.”

“She hasn’t been here since Dad, so I hope it doesn’t stir too much up,” he confessed.

“I can...I can be here. I can help,” Rey said and she meant it. She didn’t stop to think about overstepping boundaries or anything, she just spoke and it didn’t feel wrong. It was actually really, really nice to think she may be dating the same person in four months. The reliability of it, the fact that she didn’t need an exit strategy or a plan to pick up the pieces if things ended badly, made her feel confident and she wanted to be able to be there to support Ben. With whatever he needed.

She reached over and gently placed her hand on the side of his face.

“Thank you,” he said, voice low with emotion. He turned and placed a kiss on her palm and squeezed the hand still holding onto his before they got out of the car. They gathered the bags and headed up to his apartment.

Once inside, Rey toed off her shoes and joined him in the kitchen putting things away. Ben was surprised at first that she knew where things went before remembering she had spent more than just that first date night here. Once everything was put away, Rey walked over toward her half-finished project.

“You probably hate having all this stuff here,” she said, waving at the drop cloths she’d stretched out, the paint cans and cleaned paintbrushes strewn about.

Ben came up behind her and slipped his arms around her, resting his chin on her head. “Not at all. It actually makes this place feel more like a home, like someone lives here.”

She leaned back into him and smiled, already re-imagining the process she wanted to do for color. This time Ben was at her side and it was like one of those cute movie montages with a 90’s pop love song keening in the background as they got paint splatters all over and ended up having a paint fight. Not that she truly expected that to happen, but it was a nice thirty seconds to envision as she was cuddled into the warmth of Ben’s chest.

Then she shifted and her jacket made that annoying windbreaker noise and she wrinkled her nose. “Oh god, I can’t believe you walked around with me looking like this all day,” she said, stepping away from him and hastily pulling off the outrageous coat. She loved it, but the embarrassment was seeping in. In just her tank-top and trousers she actually didn’t look half bad.

“You look great,” Ben insisted, kind of following her but at no great speed. She put her coat on one of the hooks by the door and hesitated to grab her bag off the island in the kitchen. “And you looked happy and adorable.”

Rey tilted her head to the side. “Have you been reading a thesaurus? You didn’t use your go to  _ beautiful _ .”

“That too,” he grinned.

She almost snorted a laugh but stopped herself. “I did bring something a little more...datey.”

“Okay as long as you don’t mind me staying like this.”

“Black on black is always good,” she said and then eyed the doors to her left. Going into the bathroom would feel too weird, and she wasn’t sure which other bedroom was which.

Ben made the decision for her, opening the door closest to her and turning on the light. “You can use my room to change. And you can put your stuff anywhere.”

Her heart thrummed. “Okay.” She rose to her tiptoes and kissed him quickly before disappearing inside, closing the door most of the way but letting a sliver of natural light come through from the rest of the flat.

His bedroom was the size of her entire apartment. Okay. Not that big, but practically! And everything was black, which was no surprise really. Black low dresser to her right, black standing closets to her left, big black bed with a big black headboard and a black metal nightstand that looked like it could kill a toe if you stubbed it. The walls were mostly covered by curtains to block the windows; big sweeping ones from ceiling to floor. It sort of reminded her of a cave. It also reminded her of a vampire lair.

Snickering at the thought, she then had the realization that this was  _ Ben’s bedroom _ : he slept in here, was presumably naked in here, and that big beautiful bed is where they were definitely going to end up once or twice before the end of the day. She blushed, but it was more out of excitement than anything. She was done being cagey about sex. She’d come to the realization that she had been because she was scared to have sex that actually  _ meant _ something other than giving herself something to do to feel good.

Emotions were tricky and getting close and emotionally vulnerable with someone was scary.

But here she was, running her hands over the neatly made covers on the world’s largest mattress and she wasn’t about to run for the hills and hide her head in the proverbial sand. No, instead, she grabbed her bag and walked into the adjoining bathroom, whose lights turned on automatically, nearly blinding her. It was the stark opposite of the bedroom: white upon white upon white with both black and white towels which she found amusing. It was like Ben’s aesthetic was a chess board.

His sink and counter was void of anything so she guessed he had a cabinet behind the big mirror there, so she left her toothbrush and toothpaste on the marble top next to the standing basin. She took out her hairbrush and put it there too, even though she could easily keep it in her bag. She hesitated with her strip of birth control pills but once again some sage Rose wisdom came into her head telling her that if she couldn’t talk about or be chill with birth control with a dude then you probably shouldn’t be dating them, and laid them there. She took them at five in the morning every day so rather than shuffling around in the dark for her bag, she could just grab them here.

Once that was settled, she took her hair down to find it had dried into curls. They weren’t perfect waves, but she shook them out and they looked pretty so she left them. Next came her outfit. She didn’t  _ really _ need to change into her dress but she wanted to feel sexy and look nicer so she slid out of her trousers and shirt, folding them and laying them on the corner of the short dresser. She also took out her PJs, cotton shorts and a faded t-shirt and put them there as well so she didn’t have to go searching.

Rose had bought her black lace cheeky panties which she slid on and then pulled the dress from her bag. It was probably the nicest thing she owned, given to her by one of the more famous faces she’d done up with makeup for a commercial. The black material was cool and silky to the touch with a little shimmer whenever it was moved. The dress hugged her body perfectly, shorter than it looked when having to grapple with Rey’s hips. The straps were tiny things and there was a bit of loose fabric draped into folds across the chest which made it look like she actually had more of a rack than she really did.

Rose had also insisted on putting heels in the bag, which Rey debated leaving. Though walking around in bare feet didn’t really suit the dress. Not yet at least. Maybe if she got a little drunk later...before she could change her mind, she put on the shoes. They were shiny black, with a peep toe and slender heel.

She looked pretty good as she inspected herself in the bathroom mirror. She didn’t have any makeup to throw on, but she had coated her eyelashes with mascara before Ben got to her flat and that would have to do.

Sometime during getting changed, the soft sounds of music floated in through the crack in the door. The sound reminded her that she had her--dare she think it?-- _ boyfriend _ in the other room waiting for her.

Rey plopped her nearly empty backpack into the corner behind the door and then stepped out, feeling slightly ridiculous but going for it anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone realizes that Theo and Art are C3PO and R2-D2 because I feel like it's my proudest modernization moment making them humans lol.


	10. Rey's Birthday Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Ben _finally_ find an appropriate way to celebrate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is where the rating goes up 😏😏
> 
> It's been six months since Bee chewed up Ben's bag and the babes are finally gonna get it on. Finally.
> 
> Keep up [here on my twitter](https://twitter.com/hunkbuster/status/1225072046197166082)!

There was some nice smooth music coming from the pair of speakers on the table just outside the bedroom, and Ben was just finishing up some dinner meal prep. She’d wanted the meatiest, most English meal she could think of, so he’d gotten pork roast and vegetables and had rolled up the pre-seasoned meat with extras tucked inside while she was getting ready. It could sit for however long before he popped it in the oven.

“Don’t laugh,” Rey said, thankful her heels had soft soles so she didn’t make a racket like a horse clomping over the wooden floor.

Ben turned from the sink, flicking excess water off his fingers and his face transformed from simply content to stunned. “Wow.”

“I don’t usually dress up,” she confessed as Ben hurried dried off his hands and came toward her. “But I wanted to. For you.”

“Rey...you look amazing.” He caught one of her hands in his and the other rested on her hip. The thinness of the fabric became all the more apparent as the heat from his hands warmed her skin.

Spots of red blossomed on her cheeks. “Thank you.”

“And I feel very underdressed,” Ben finished with a little laugh.

“You look amazing too,” she said, resting a hand on his shoulder and running the back of her knuckles down his cheek. The last time they’d met, outside the Starbucks, he’d been clean shaven and had apparently kept it up, his skin soft under her touch. She didn’t mind either way. 

With his free hand, Ben ran a finger lightly down her jaw to her chin and tilted her head ever so slightly. Rey had no idea how someone could look at her so lovingly gentle and also like he wanted to eat her up at the exact same time, but Ben managed that. She suppressed a shiver just before he kissed her, gently at first but quickly turning into something more intense.

Rey melted against him, gasping when his tongue slid against her lips. His hand slid against her neck and she shivered then, breaking the kiss to suck in shallow breaths, eyes still closed, noses touching. She could feel the evidence of his arousal through his pants and kissed him again, arms circling around his neck, holding herself flush against him as her body went through warm waves of warmth and crackles of electricity seemed to follow his hands wherever they touched.

Ben palmed one of her breasts, pulling a tiny moan from Rey. She arched her back just so and he slid his hand around her ribcage and massaged her nipple with his thumb, his lips finding a trail down her neck. She gripped his shoulders, thankful that he was strong enough to hold them both up. He grabbed her ass, the fabric of her dress feeling fragile as tissue paper under his hand. He released some of the strain and growled low against her throat.

“Ben,” Rey breathed out, digging her hands through his hair. 

He brought his lips from her neck to hover above her own. “If you tell me we have to stop I don’t think I can,” he murmured.

“No,” she said. “I just want to take my time.” She leaned in and kissed him once more before curling her hands against his chest to put some distance between them.

He nodded and kissed the side of her mouth, before reluctantly moving away. “Do you want something to drink?”

“Just a little,” she said, tugging down her dress an inch or two and leaning against the island, thankful it was there to keep her upright. Ben poured a bit of red into a glass and then downed it like a shot, making Rey laugh before he put a bit more in and handed it to her. She grinned and swirled it around. “I want to remember everything. No blackouts tonight.”

Ben arched an eyebrow as he moved around to sit on one of the tall stools. It brought them eyelevel, Rey perhaps an inch taller than him in her heels. He motioned her close with an open arm and she walked over, deciding that his thigh belonged between her legs. She sipped the wine and held it aloft as she laced her other hand through his hair and he shifted his leg, pressing against her.

They had hours before an appropriate dinner time and Rey wanted to indulge. She wanted every moment to linger and every feeling to be trifold. One because it was with Ben, and two because they’d been waiting for so long. It wouldn’t be hard. She rested her forehead against his and closed her eyes, his arms around her, her dress riding up her thighs just a bit.

“I love you,” she said, peeking and seeing him watching her. She pulled back a little and caressed his face. “I thought I’d have trouble saying it but it’s all I think about. I love you and it scares me but I’m glad it’s you.”

Ben squeezed her torso gently. “I’m glad it’s you too.” His eyes sparkled. “I keep thinking about the mess I’d be without you and--” he muffled his next words against her neck and hair. 

She laughed a little as his breath tickled and she stroked his hair. “Okay, we’re both hopelessly in love, I think we’ve got that covered.”

Ben smiled. “I think so.”

Rey took a moment to down the rest of the wine before she took his head in her hands and kissed him. He tasted the remnants of the drink on her lips and pulled her toward him. He caught her moan in his mouth as she rolled her hips against his thigh. Without breaking the kiss, Ben stood and grabbed her, sliding his hands down her sides to her legs and lifting her easily, setting her on the edge of the island.

“Do you mind?” Ben asked, sliding his hands down her legs to her shoes. Rey shook her head and he gently pulled them off and put them on the stool. Seriously, maybe Finn was right and she somehow stumbled upon a magical park with a perfect prince because what other man would take care with  _ shoes _ ?

He went back to kissing her neck, sending chills down her as she wrapped her legs around his waist. 

She whispered out his name and he slid his hands up her legs, trailing his fingertips up sensitive inner thighs. “I’ve imagined you touching me for months when I’m alone,” she said, causing him to pause. “I want you to touch me.” She took one of his hands as he pulled her to the edge of the counter, her dress hitched up over her hips. He had such strong hands, and she had been thinking about what he could do with them ever since he sent her that photo. Well, before then, but the photo had definitely escalated things.

“You want me to touch you?” Ben’s voice was low, his eyes dark and hungry. She moved his hand where she wanted it and he could feel how wet she was through her panties.

“Yes.”

He ran a finger over the wetness and she bit down on her bottom lip, nodding. He pressed higher and found her clit. She whimpered a bit, holding onto his other arm. He brushed his thumb in circles and his cock grew harder at the sounds escaping her throat, her head thrown back, nails digging into his shoulder. 

Ben easily slid his hand between her warm skin and the thin fabric, finding the slick folds and running his finger over them. Rey moaned and her legs tightened around him. “Rey.” He circled around her clit with a finger. “Look at me.”

She did, opening her hazel eyes and finding him close, their heads tilted toward one another, his eyes burrowing into her own. “Please,” she whispered, gasping moments later when he pushed a single digit into her, warm and wet. Her eyes fluttered but remained open as he moved the finger in and out, sliding across her clit each time. He could feel her trembling already.

“Fuck, Ben.” Rey could hardly believe this was happening. It felt so fucking good, better than anything she’d experienced before and it was just his damn hand. He added a second finger, stretching her just a bit and she couldn’t stop the noises escaping her throat or the way she was already close to coming, her entire body tensed and ready. His eyes on her the whole time was also hot as fuck. “Don’t stop,” she moaned out and he moved his fingers, stretching and sliding until she bit back a cry and her whole body shuddered and floated and clenched.

“Jesus, Rey,” Ben groaned as she panted and shifted forward to capture his mouth in a kiss, slotting their lips together and tugging him toward her with his shirt in her hands. Ben took his hand from her cunt and lifted her, hands supporting her thighs. He half stumbled but luckily didn’t fall and they made their way to the bedroom. He paused in the doorway to press her against the doorframe for a moment. Rey held onto him tightly with her legs and found the hem of his shirt, which she helped tug over his head. 

Ben hid most of his height and width under black clothes, but without it, Rey could hardly believe anyone could be as large as him. Which said a lot to her thoughts suddenly thinking of his cock, rock hard in his pants. She didn’t linger on it because it really didn’t fucking matter, and ran her hands over his chest, skin on skin. Her trailing hands made fiery tracks across his skin as Ben took hold of her again and continued his walk to the bed. 

He let her down as easily as he could, but she still bounced on the mattress with a laugh. She settled on the edge on her knees as he went for his button and zipper, Rey’s hands joining him.

“Rey, you don’t have--”

“I want to,” she said, tugging down his pants and his underwear. His dick sprang free, larger than anyone Rey had slept with before but not enough to scare her off. She hooked one arm around his neck, kissing him sloppily as she touched him, getting a satisfied intake of breath from Ben as she stroked his length and brushed her thumb along the edge of his head. She dragged her kisses from his lips to his neck, nipping at his earlobe and kissing hastily down to his clavicle. 

“I’m not very good at this,” she told him as she paused touching him and ran her hands down his broad sides.

“Doubtful,” Ben said in a thin voice. “Let me get in bed first.”

She allowed it. She took advantage of the position to kiss him again, wanting all of him all at once, and touching his cock again with her delicate, precise hands before she moved down. Hand on the base of his dick, her tongue darted up the shaft and across the sensitive edge. Ben moaned and fisted a hand in the covers, his other hand searching for her. He found her thigh and dug his fingers in. Rey grinned and took him into her mouth, salty with precum. She didn’t even try to take more than a few inches but rolled her tongue and stroked the rest with her hand. 

“Fucking hell, Rey,” Ben panted out. She removed his cock with a pop of her lips and grinned at him, sitting back on her legs. He quickly propped up on one side and helped her off with the silky dress. He immediately pushed his face against her chest and grabbed her, pushing her down against the mattress. She dug her hands into his hair as he kissed down her chest, sucking her nipples and making white spots appear on the back of her eyelids.

His hands took hold of her hips, holding her still even as she wanted to squirm. He looked at her, and she stilled. Rey ran her finger across his plush, pink lips and he attacked her with a kiss, his cock pressed between them.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered. “God, you’re amazing.”

She smiled, holding onto his sides. “You’re the best thing to ever happen to me, Ben,” she said honestly, willing herself not to cry at the sentiment. She didn’t want to ruin everything by crying during sex. She wasn’t even the type to  _ do _ that. Their fingers laced together and he kissed the back of hers before she moved his down her torso to her panties. “I want to feel you inside of me.”

His lips parted and he kissed her once before he moved to pull the last of her clothes off and tossed them aside. He hovered over her before he got down and pulled her legs over his shoulders, face settling between them. Ben kissed her thighs and Rey bit her lower lip, trying to prepare herself, but unable to stop the bucking of her hips when he ran his tongue along her cunt. 

He pressed her hips down with a single arm and kept his eyes on her, even as she threw her head back, only occasionally meeting his intense gaze. He licked and flicked his tongue, diving into her with his tongue and making her mewl and shake. His name left her lips what seemed like every few seconds, and she hissed with pleasure when he pushed two fingers inside of her. He slid them in and out and sucked on her clit until she was sure she was going to come again. Which never happened. She was lucky to come once, but here was Ben pulling them out of her like it was his one true talent.

She was so wet for him and he was having a hard time thinking straight as she arched her back and moaned out his name. But she was beautiful and he wanted her to feel everything she wanted to feel and hoped he was living up to her expectations. Ben lifted his mouth from her cunt and wiped his lips and chin on his other hand before he pushed one of her legs down and leaned over her, pressing a third finger into her wet cunt. Rey moaned and cried out, clenching around his fingers moments later.

“I need you,” she cried out, reaching for him, hands finding his torso. “Please, Ben.” Her eyes sprang open to find him there, face flushed, sweat building up. She grabbed his hair and pulled him down, kissing him and tasting herself and wriggling to move her legs around his hips. He held himself up with a single arm and used the other to brush the sensitive, tingling folds between her legs before he paused and pressed most of his weight on her.

“Ooph, what’re you, oh,” she said as he came back with a condom from his nightstand. She’d forgotten about the whole safe sex thing, so caught up in everything she was. Even with her pills, that little two percent or whatever could change her life and she didn’t want that. Not yet, not  _ now _ . And God why was she thinking about babies right now? She shook her head to clear her mind. Ben paused and raised an eyebrow in question. “Yes, good. I’m on the pill but--” she waved a hand and he fitted the condom on before resuming their position.

“I don’t--let me know if I’m hurting you,” Ben said.

“I can take it,” Rey said, a smirk settling on her lips that made his mind go wild.

Ben glanced down between them, guiding himself in. She was slick and they both moaned in pleasure as he slid a couple inches inside. Rey wriggled and nodded and he pushed some more. “Jesus Rey, you feel so fucking good.”

She shifted her hips and pulled him closer. He shifted, pulling out and pushing in again agonizingly slowly and his eyes closed then. Rey brushed her fingers down his nose, pressing against his lips. He took one of her small digits into his mouth and sucked and bit down ever so much before he focused on thrusting, testing out how much of him she could take. She cried out once or twice, feeling him stretch and fill her. She greedily wanted more and pulled his hand to her breast, his skin rough against hers. He kissed down her neck and rested his forehead against her collarbone, her hips moving with him. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could last, but he didn’t want to stop, not now.

Rey whispered encouraging words in his ear and brushed and pulled on his hair. “I want,” she said before being drowned out by a particularly hard thrust that made her yelp, “I want to be on top. Is that okay?”

Rather than answer, he wrapped and arm around her and lifted, twisting them around. She settled down on his cock, taking more of him than before and he pushed his head back into the bed and swore. Rey sat above him, eyes only for him, face flushed, skin sparkling with sweat. She rolled her hips and he took her thighs in his hands. A sexy smirk appeared on her face and she leaned forward, hands resting on his chest as she rolled and moved her hips, drawing him in and out of her cunt. His hands settled on her ass, grabbing hard and moving with her, moving her faster.

“Oh God,” Rey breathed out, feeling herself close to climax again.  _ Again _ . Her rhythm faltered but Ben kept it up, moving her easily as she came, tensing around his cock and squeezing as her entire body shook.

Ben cursed again, not holding back anymore. He curled an arm around her and thrust a dozen more times before he came, shuddering against her. The room filled with the sound of their panting breathing as Rey propped herself up, hair sticking to her face, a smile on her face.

“Wow,” she said, because however else was she supposed to respond to that?

Ben trailed a hand down her spine. “Happy birthday.”

She grinned and detangled herself from him, laying out on the covers and catching her breath. Ben stripped off the condom and left for a moment to dispose of it before jumping into bed and pulling him toward her in a little spoon, both sticky and sweaty and neither caring. Ben nuzzled her neck and Rey snuggled back against him, his dick still half-hard against her ass.

“Was that what you wanted?” Ben asked her hair.

“Everything and more,” Rey said, tucking her hands under her face. “I’ve never um...come so much.”

Ben grinned and kissed her neck. They stayed that way until the sweatiness got too much. “C’mon, we still have a whole night.”

Rey squinted, looking for a clock but there wasn’t one. “Oh! Dinner,” she grinned, suddenly ravenous. “And did you promise dancing?”

Ben got up and helped her to her feet. “I did. Though I’m not sure I’d last long.”

Rey had to agree, her legs were also feeling a little like jelly. “We’ll play it by ear. I definitely want more of  _ that _ later.”

Ben grabbed her, pressing their naked bodies together and kissed her, tangling his hand in her hair. “I can guarantee that won’t be a problem.”

She smiled and followed him into the bathroom to clean up. This was definitely her best birthday to date.


	11. Rey's Birthday Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Ben go dancing and then some.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last Rey's birthday installment! This was added on a few days after I'd finished writing the whole fic. I initially wasn't gonna write it but I decided to anyway.
> 
> More smut ahead.
> 
> Be sure to read the whole fic [here](https://twitter.com/hunkbuster/status/1225072046197166082)!

A leisurely forty minutes later, Rey was wearing one of Ben’s shirts--big enough to cover more of her than her dress had--and she’d insisted he be shirtless so he was sporting a pair of drawstring lounging pants. With the roast in the oven and vegetables boiling in herb infused water, Rey went about describing her vision for his wall of New York City. 

Ben wasn’t uncreative in the least--“I do run a VFX company,” he’d finally let slip his job minutes earlier and Rey had gasped and peppered him with questions--but he still wasn’t great at visualizing without drawing something out but he trusted her. 

“I’ll just have to spend even more time here,” Rey had said, brandishing a dry paintbrush. She tilted her head up toward the Empire State Building’s top spire. 

Ben came up behind her, engulfing her in his arms, his face against her neck. “What a travesty,” he said, kissing her tender skin.

Rey shivered, a lazy happy smile on her face. “Oh yes, quite an unfortunate thing.” 

By the time dinner was ready, Rey’s lips were once again pink from kissing and her stomach was grumbling so loudly that Ben’s neighbor across the hall could probably hear it.

A tiny bit of red wine was poured and they sat at his greatly unused table, where Rey mostly told him antics, the few fun moments of her time growing up in England. It wasn’t all bad. 

Once dinner was cleaned up, Rey debated between painting and dancing. She sat on the same stool from earlier, this time with Ben in front of her. She rested her hands on his chest, warm and strong under her hands. 

“Just pick one,” Ben told her as she glanced to the wall and back to him and tried very hard not to bite her lip in hesitation.

“I don’t know.” They’d already eaten away most of the evening.

“You want to go dancing.”

Rey frowned. “You don’t want to go dancing. I can tell.”

“I offered first! I just...don’t dance. I’ll watch though.”

She scrunched up her nose. “I bet I could get you to dance…I like a challenge.”

So it was decided. With her dress slightly soiled from earlier, she pulled on her trousers and tank-top instead. The only other clothes she’d brought with her for the next day were too casual for dancing. She put on her fancy shoes and ran her fingers through her air-dried hair. It didn’t look as pretty as earlier, but it would do.

Ben got them a ride instead of driving and she stayed tucked up against him in the backseat. She almost fell asleep because of his warmth and the soothing smooth car ride, but they arrived before she could. Once she was on her feet and she could hear music, it instantly woke her.

Ben got another drink once they were inside to help him loosen up a bit but Rey was clear earlier: she wanted the most clear head to remember this whole night. She wasn’t too worried about him since he was the size of a tank and probably needed multiple drinks to even get tipsy.

She left him by the bar and moved out onto the dancefloor, which was the perfect amount of full to make it anonymous and fun. She wouldn’t have hated being the center of attention, but then she probably wouldn’t have gotten the chance to potentially grab Ben and pull him onto the floor with her.

He watched her from beyond the bar where he’d situated himself with his beer. Like earlier at the museum, he was oddly content just watching her have fun in his general vicinity. Her smile was contagious and everything that he’d mentioned to her before: rival the sun and all that.

She could also move her body...well he knew how she could from earlier, but there was always a certain erroticism when it came to dancing. Her current clothes covered her more than that dress lying on the floor back in his bedroom, but she was just as alluring, perhaps even a bit more.

Time always tended to slip away from her in moments like these and she was as comfortably closing her eyes and tossing her head back and moving to the music as if she were in a room filled with her friends instead of strangers. That was the magic of Los Angeles.

But she was also here with  _ Ben _ and when she noticed his drink was gone, she held his gaze and tried to get him to join her. He didn’t until she physically went to him, pressing her hot body against him and tugging him a few feet away from the wall. 

“You better not just stand there like a statue!” she yelled over the music.

He shrugged and made a face that was adorable and desperate. She took his hands and gently tugged his shoulders forward and back so at least he was moving. When he seemed to be able to keep that up on his own, she placed his hands on her hips and swayed. She’d never actually danced  _ for _ a guy before, but found it was easy enough with him. She grinned and tried to make him feel more comfortable by holding onto his neck and kissing him every once and awhile.

He seemed even less miserable when she turned around and dived into her knowledge of club dancing from some of Finn’s favorite movies. She didn’t flat out give him a lapdance--because logistically such a thing couldn’t happen with them both standing--but she did sway her body against his, dipping down and shimmying up.

Rey barely got a chance to do very much of that before Ben’s hands were a vice grip on her hips, pulling her ass against the front of his jeans, where she could feel him hard. She was a little bit pleased with herself and leaned back against his chest where she could feel his heart beating rapidly. His lips brushed the shell of her ear.

“I want you so much.”

Heat flushed through her body and she twisted around, crushing her lips against his, mouth open and needy. His tongue slipped into her mouth and her hands tangled in his hair. He squeezed her ample ass and ground his hips against hers.

Breaking the kiss, Rey took his hand and dragged him through the building toward the exit. The moment they broke into the cool evening air, he took charge, pulling her away from the exit and kissing her again, hands gripping her hair.

Heart beating wildly, and already feeling herself getting wet, she forced them to part once again. “Can you call a ride?”

Ben nodded, grabbing his phone and not letting go of the arm snaked around her body. Once he was through, he held onto the phone just to have an obstacle between him and her. “I can see why people go dancing now,” he said, voice low.

She chuckled, arms resting against his chest, and brushed her nose against his. “It has its uses.”

The tension in the car ride back to his place was palpable. Rey crossed her legs and squeezed her thighs, trying very hard not to be that kind of rider who did things in the back of a cab you weren’t supposed to. She wasn’t even able to sit next to Ben, the only thing touching being their hands, fingers laced together on the middle seat.

Ben seemed cool as a cucumber as they made their way inside the building and even in the elevator. Rey waited impatiently until they were in his apartment before she pulled off her shoes and then turned to him in one fluid movement. 

All of the impatience came right back up to the surface. They nearly collided together, hands tangling in hair and lips desperate as if they hadn’t seen each other in months. His shirt came off first again, and then he lifted her, hands on her ass, kissing her throat. 

Many kisses and much less clothing later, and Rey was on the kitchen island again. It was super fucking convenient, even if it was cold under her as she propped herself up on her elbows and watched Ben pull her trousers off. She held her breath as his eyes roamed over her nearly naked form. Her stomach flipped when his eyes met hers.

“You’re so intense,” she once again accidentally letting her thoughts slip out.

Ben paused, his eyes softening. “I’m sorry. I can--”

“No, keep going.” She nodded and lay back fully, hair pooling out around her. He grazed her inner thigh with his hand, running up her belly, pausing at her breasts to squeeze and twist her pebbled nipples, and sliding his hand up her neck, pushing his thumb under her chin with a slight bit of force. With his freehand, he managed to unbutton his pants and pull his hard cock partway out of the band of his underwear.

He tucked her legs around his hips and gently moved his cock against the thin fabric of her panties, eyes on her. She felt him throb against her clit and bit down on her lower lip. With slow ease as if he hadn’t been ready to fuck her in a bathroom stall back at the club, he moved his hand from her neck. Before he could even give her a questioning look, she parted her lips and scraped her teeth over his finger before taking the whole digit into her mouth and softening her grip to just her lips. She curled her tongue around and shuddered a bit when his thumb moved across her clit. Eyes fluttering closed, he pulled his finger from her mouth and told her to look at him, voice even but demanding.

She did and he lifted her. She grabbed his shoulders and felt his cock pressing against her cunt through her underwear. 

“I want you, Ben,” she said once they made it to his bedroom. 

“I want to fuck you until you cry out for me,” he said, unguarded. Rey had little experience with this much intensity, of someone knowing just what they wanted, and it was exciting.

“I want you to fuck me,” she said, trying it out. It sounded  _ good _ .

He kissed her once, twice and then lowered her to her feet before he grabbed her hips and pushed her torso toward the mattress. It was tall and she leaned against it, keeping on her tip-toes as he pulled down her panties and disposed of his own pants. He came close to her, his hand sliding over her ass and a finger finding her slick folds. He slid his finger over the lips until they tingled and he pushed inside. She gasped and bit her lip, gripping the mattress. He leaned over her, his chest pressing against her back.

“You’re so wet for me,” he murmured.

“Yes,” she said as he added another finger and the balance on her toes faltered but she kept herself upright.

Ben paused in his movement, his  _ intensity _ , and he kissed her just below the ear. “I love you,” he said softly. The words sent a spark toward Rey’s center. “Tell me if I’m being too much.”

She nodded and he disappeared for a moment to snatch another condom from the nightstand an armspan away. With a grip on her hips, Ben pushed his cock inside of her, the new angle making him feel bigger than before. Rey moaned and was entirely thankful for the sturdy bed beneath her.

He pulled out and pushed in with a bit more speed, hands gripping her hips. She’d probably be bruised to high heaven tomorrow but she didn’t care at all. He thrust, pulling her back toward him as much as he pushed forward.

At one point she bit down on her finger, the pain just invigorating her more. Words tumbled from his mouth, seemingly calculated to drive her toward the edge faster.

“You’re so tight.” ( _ for you _ )  
“How do you like that?” ( _ so good _ )  
“Don’t come until I tell you to.” ( _ a nod _ )  
“You can take so much of me, fuck.” ( _ a whimper _ )  
“How does that feel?”

“So fucking good,” she’d cried out as his hand snaked around her hip and found her clit, playing with it as he thrust.

“Come for me, Rey,” he said, voice dangerously low and demanding.

“I am!” she gasped out, just as her body trembled, clenching around his massive cock and shaking her entire body. She would have fallen to the floor if he hadn’t been holding onto her. 

“There’s my girl.”

She whimpered against the mattress and twisted just enough to see his hands on her, his broad chest glistening with sweat. “Now you come for me,” she said, her voice a little more wobbly than expected.

He grinned, and her already twisted insides tumbled at the sight. Her walls were already so sensitive from earlier, the feeling now was almost an out-of-body experience as he leaned over her body again, getting better leverage to thrust, fast and hot and hard. His breathing grew ragged and then he sputtered out a “fuck, yes, yes,  _ yes _ ,” and his thrusts slowed. He kissed the back of her neck.

“Are you okay?” he asked after a few seconds passed.

“Yes,” Rey whispered.

He stepped back, pulling out, and she thankfully used the bed to keep herself upright as she turned around. The bathroom light flickered on as he threw the used condom away and then returned to her.

“I’ve never...that was a lot,” she said, though the expression on her face told him it wasn’t bad, just new.

“Sorry. I just…” He flushed a bit, gathering her up in his arms. She let him, laying her arms along his arms and shoulders.

“It was good. I’m not used to someone knowing what they want so much. Usually it’s just y’know, a quick thing.”

“I don’t want to make you feel like I don’t…” He frowned a little. “Respect you. I love you.”

“I know you do.” She ran her hand down his face, both warm and wet with sweat. “I won’t mind a good fuck every once and a while.”

Ben closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers. “You were just so fucking sexy in that club. I couldn’t help myself.”

“I appreciate you taking me home first.”

“I’m not that much of a bastard.”

“You thought about it. I know you did.”

He thought about lying. Shrugged instead. “Only first class sex locations for my girlfriend.”

“And the spoiling continues.” She gave him a chaste kiss. “Okay...if we’re gonna bang this much I’m gonna need to keep a gallon of lotion here. My skin is gonna turn into a lizard if I shower too much.”

He laughed and let her go. She wobbled and he caught her elbow. “Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be doing much walking tomorrow,” she teased.

“My apologies,” Ben said, his own legs feeling the effects of their afternoon and evening events.

After a much shorter shower, brushing of teeth and pulling on of pajamas, Ben replaced the slightly soiled top blanket on his bed for another and they climbed in. Rey instantly went to his side, snuggling up, feeling the exhaustion pulling her toward sleep.

“This is the first time anyone’s been in this bed but me,” Ben mused after a few quiet, dark moments. Before getting in, she’d made him open one of the blackout curtains so the sun would wake her in the morning--along with her 5am pill alarm--but even with that open there was little light in the room.

She hugged him with one arm over his chest. “I want to stay here forever,” she murmured, lulled even quicker into sleep with his fingers playing with her hair. “I don’t want you to be lonely.”

“I’m not,” Ben told her, taking her hand from his chest and kissing the palm, the back, and then resting it against his face. Rey automatically gently brushed her fingers across his skin, leaving a small kiss where she could on his torso. “I have you.”

“You do,” she sighed, half asleep. She could feel her entire body relaxing. She hadn’t felt this safe and comfortable in a very long time.

“Goodnight, Rey,” he whispered.

“Goodnight, love,” she mumbled out, just before falling asleep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok but this is the closest to any kind of intense/dom-ish thing I’ve ever written but of course it’s still soft because duh it’s Ben; I just wanted to make sure it was different from the stuff they did earlier for some ~spice~


	12. OMG

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a year since the two crazy kids met and Ben has an idea...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's almost the end folks! Just a couple more twitter updates. Thanks to everyone who's been reading along and thanks to everyone who may read this in full in the future!
> 
> Full thread here :)

Ben’s phone rang a few seconds after he hit send on the last text. It was Rey. He really shouldn’t answer personal calls on company time but he was alone in his office, so he hit accept.

“ARE YOU SERIOUS?!” Rey yelled through the phone. He had to hold it away from his face. 

“Yes.”

“Ohmygod.”

“I want to fall asleep and wake up with you every day, Rey.”

“I want that too.”

“I can start looking for places, somewhere that works for us both.”

Rey sniffed. “I doubt I make enough to pay for very much.”

“Rey...are you crying?”

“No,” she lied.

Ben’s whole demeanor softened and he turned in his chair so his back was to the door. “Rey, you don’t have to worry about money, we’ve been over this. I want you to be able to just do what you want to do and not worry about it.”

“I’ve only ever known one way of living which involves a lot of instant food and barely making rent.” She was trying very hard not to sob.

“I know. And that’s what’s made you into such a strong person. But let me help you, just a little bit. Okay?”

“Okay.” A pause. “Would it be a house or a flat?”

“Do you have a preference?”

“Not really. I’ve always lived in flats and I like them enough. But...oh your art.” They had finished painting it together months ago; there had been no 90’s teen romance music playing but she had definitely purposefully dragged a paintbrush down his arm once or twice. She started crying again.

Ben probably should have waited until later to bring this up so he could be there to hug her and tell her everything was fine. “We can buy a new place and paint whatever we want wherever we want.”

“Right,” she sniffed, scrubbing her face with her sleeves. “God, I’m sorry for crying. You just took me by surprise.”

“I’m sorry for springing it on you.”

“What did you plan for later? Because I think I could do with cuddling with you on the sofa watching a movie you hate.”

“Why a movie I hate?”

“A rom-com. You hate those.”

“I do not.”

“You fall asleep whenever we watch one.”

“Only because I’m so comfortable with you,” Ben chuckled, trying to salvage his dignity. “And that sounds great. I’ll cook, and we’ll watch a movie.”

“That’s all I want. I can’t believe it’s been a year since we met.”

“What a year it’s been.”

“The best of my life.”

There was a bit of ruckus outside of Ben’s office and he glanced over his shoulder before sighing. “I have to get back to work but I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

“I’ll probably be at your place when you get home. I do have my very own key pass now.” He could hear her smile through the phone.

“I can’t wait to see you, Rey. I’m sorry I made you cry.”

“It’s okay. Get back to work! I love you.”

“Love you.”


End file.
